Transfer of Doctoral Credits

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by Dr. Gina, Nov 24, 2003.

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  1. Dr. Gina

    Dr. Gina New Member

    A question....


    Which DL university(s) has the most liberal requirements in the transfer of doctoral credits to their program - specifically in the social and psychological sciences?


    Thanks.
     
  2. Ian Anderson

    Ian Anderson Active Member

    According to theie catalog NCU may accept up to 30 units as transfer towards their 81 unit PhD program. Other schools I've looked at were similar.
     
  3. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    Re: Re: Transfer of Doctoral Credits

    But these give one credit for an earned master's in the field. Not the same as transferring in doctoral-level credits.

    Expect to transfer in no more than a couple of actual doctoral-level courses with most schools.
     
  4. Ian Anderson

    Ian Anderson Active Member

    Re: Re: Re: Transfer of Doctoral Credits

    I've looked into several technical/business PhD programs and all seem to allow any applicable graduate course as transfer credit. The UAH (which offers DL PhDs) catalog --- http://www.uah.edu/Catalogs/gCat03_05.pdf --- does not differentiate masters and doctorate courses and up to 50% of coursework can be earned at another institution (page 50).
    Of course the only way to know what will be accepted is to get a written response from the university you are interested in (which is what I am doing currently)
     
  5. Anthony Pina

    Anthony Pina Active Member

  6. GME

    GME New Member

    Capella has a pretty liberal transfer policy. Note they have a not-designed-for-licensure (although it might work in some states for licensure) 120 unit PHD in General Psychology (and some other areas like Family) and a designed-for-licensure 145 unit clinical PSYD.

    From their website:

    <<PhD applicants with previous graduate coursework with a grade of B or better from a regionally accredited or internationally recognized school may transfer up to 50 quarter credits (10 courses) toward the PhD degree. Some courses that are over 10 years old may not be accepted for transfer credit.

    PsyD applicants with previous graduate coursework with a grade of B or better from a regionally accredited or internationally recognized school may transfer up to 15 quarter credits (3 courses) toward the PsyD degree. Some courses that are over 10 years old may not be accepted for transfer credit.

    The following criteria apply to courses completed at another institution for which transfer credit is under consideration:

    • Transfer courses must be equivalent in credit to the five (5) quarter credits offered by the School of Psychology. Three (3) semester credits and four (4) quarter credits are deemed equivalent to five (5) quarter credits. >>

    Also, I believe Walden has a pretty liberal transfer policy.
     
  7. walter

    walter New Member

    Why?

    The obvious question is why would you want the university with the most liberal transfer policy?
     
  8. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    Well, I'm one guy who's completed the program, anyway.... :)

    Union doesn't accept transfer credit of any kind in its Ph.D. program. While prior learning is acknowledged and built upon, the learner is expected to develop a complete, stand-alone program. For example, Union gets more than its share of ABD's. But they're not permitted to just come in, do a dissertation, and graduate. They have to build an entire Ph.D. program, which includes an Internship, Personal Growth area, Residencies, and, most relevant to this discussion, New Learning. (Plus the dissertation or comparable doctoral project.) That New Learning is the coursework (or equivalent learning activities) that will comprise the body of knowledge a Ph.D. student would master in a program specializing in his/her area. If the learner has already mastered that prior to entry, he/she will have to identify a new set of learning areas comparable to a complete set of doctoral courses.

    Hope this helps.
     
  9. PaulC

    PaulC Member

    This has been stated here before but I think it may be somewhat misleading. You can enter a Capella doctoral program with no graduate work. However, the program is designed such that you will essentially first complete a Master's program within that doctoral program. What Capella is saying is that you can transfer in your Master's degree (credits) and go straight to the doctoral portion of the program. Even with the maximum transfer, you still have to take 12 courses plus your comps and dissertation. This is pretty much the equivalent of a standard doctoral program and more than some. In other words, if you have a Master's degree and additional courses taken in a doctoral program, Capella will transfer in your Masters program credits but will not give you additional credit for the doctoral work you did previously.
     
  10. Anthony Pina

    Anthony Pina Active Member

    Rich,

    Thank you for clarifying this...it does help.

    Tony
     
  11. Anthony Pina

    Anthony Pina Active Member

    Re: Why?

    Several people populate this board who, for various reasons, have had to interrupt their doctoral work. For some, it may not be feasible to return to your previous institution. I was in somewhat the same circumstance, in that I began a PhD program in one state and transferred to another state for employment reasons. I ended up finishing my doctoral work at a different university.

    For those who already have accumulated some doctoral credits, it is desirable to find an institution that would not require the student to repeat courses that he or she has already taken.

    Tony
     
  12. PattiWilliams

    PattiWilliams New Member

    When speaking of transfer credits, there can be differences in specific programs within a university.

    I am a doctoral learner at Capella in counseling psychology. When I began my program they allowed up to 50 quarter credits to be transfered in if they were from an accredited master's program in a related field. When I began the program at Capella it was a 125 quarter hour program and they transferred in 50 credits from my master's degree. Now they have changed it to a 145 quarter hour program and only allow a maximum of 15 credits to be transfered in, meaning, at best, you would have to do 130 hours at Capella.

    At a residency a couple of months ago I asked why they changed the policy on transferring in credits and was told that they were very liberal when they first started the program to encourage enrollment but as they have have quickly grown into a quality program, they are making it harder to get accepted and making the transfer policies much more rigid.

    It just depends on what program you are wanting to do and what exactly your background is. This is the same as other traditional educational institutions. Once you reach graduate level, and particularlly the doctoral level, they pretty much expect you to be a product of their institution... and if you transfer in too many credits, you are just purchasing a diploma from them rather than earning a degree from their school. Thus, you have to consider the impetus behind your degree.

    Patti Williams
    PhD candidate, counseling psychology, Capella University, current
    MA, counseling, Regent University, 2002
    AA, liberal arts, Spokane Community College, 199
    AA, Christian Ministries, The Salvation Army College for Officer Training, 1994
     
  13. PaulC

    PaulC Member

    I believe it is the PsyD that has the 15 credit transfer limit (which now includes the clinical and counseling specializations). The PhD still has a 50 credit transfer limit. Previously there was only a PhD program.
     
  14. PattiWilliams

    PattiWilliams New Member

    Paul,

    Yes, that is correct, but if one is desiring to do a program with the intention of seeking licensure as a psychologist, you are limited to the new PsyD program (I had the option to stay with my PhD program or switch to the new program and I did select to change programs). That is a great example of what I was attempting to communicate to Dr. Gina's original question about the amount of transfer credits... that it depends on the university and then within the university it depends on the school.... and in the case of my program... it depends on the specialization.... it is a question that can have many different answers..... and then it boils down to what you are attempting to transfer into the particular program..... so many variables!

    Patti
     
  15. obecve

    obecve New Member

    Most doctoral programs are pretty rigid on their transfer of credits. Expect no more than 6-12 semester hours of transfer beyond the master's degree. However, I was reading somewhere recently where one of the distance programs is offering a doctoral completion program for ABD's. Unfortunately I cannot remember who it is at the moment. Perhaps one of the other members can.
     
  16. Jack Tracey

    Jack Tracey New Member

    If I remember correctly, Gina has already earned an MSW and so does not require the Doctoral degree in order to practice as a licensed clinician. As an aside, this is the reason that SCUPS used to advertise so consistently in the Social Work publications, because the Social Workers entering the program were already licensed. Obviously SCUPS is no longer in that business and their ads no longer appear. They have been replaced by ads for IUGS (International University for Graduate Studies) which is "Fully accredited by the government of St. Kitts and Nevis." While they state that they specialize in Behavioral Health, they also state that they specialize in ABD students. They are here:
    http://www.iugrad.com
    Please don't get me wrong, I do not endorse this program in any way and believe that Gina has far better options available to her. BTW, the IUGS president is Norma Ross, PhD. If anyone knows precisely which schools granted her degrees I'd appreciate their posting that information somewhere in this neighborhood.
    Jack
     
  17. Anthony Pina

    Anthony Pina Active Member

    You are probably talking about the Doctoral Completion Program at Saybrook Graduate School. This may be the most transfer-friendly program out there.

    http://www.saybrook.edu/prospective_students/academic_programs/spec_doc_prog.html

    Tony
     
  18. drwetsch

    drwetsch New Member

    When I was at Nova the question of transfer came up time and time again. There was one student in my class who had been at Temple U. and was retaking classes. Nova explained that the Ph.D. is the highest academic degree that a university awards and the majority of the coursework and dissertation needs to come from the school awarding the degree.

    When I moved from North Dakota to North Carolina I was often asked why I wasn't working on my doctorate from one of the local universities such as UNC - Chapel Hill, NC State U., or Duke? My main reason was that since I already had a couple of years invested at Nova I was not about to start over. If I had been in North Carolina a year earlier the situation may have been different.

    As I was writing this the extension of doctoral studies came to mind too. At Nova I wanted to be ABD for as short a time as possible. In 1994 Nova was instituting the CIS Ph.D. program. Those of us in the IS program were asked if we wanted to switch over. I declined as I was starting my dissertation and didn't want to add an additional year of coursework.

    John
     
  19. joycealim

    joycealim New Member

    transferring doctoral credits

    The bottom line is milking students out of money. If a school is accredited then another school with the same accreditation should take all of the credits. Why get accreditation when credits do not transfer.
    The schools want to milk you dry.
     
  20. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

    Dredging up a 6 year old thread to beat a dead horse.
     

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